Isn't it amazing how many of us go through life not knowing our purpose? Or worse off, knowing our purpose, but doing nothing to pursue or live out that purpose. As a person who has lived many years pursuing something that wasn't even close to my purpose, I know how empty of a feeling that can be.
If you Google "What is my purpose in life," the first thing that pops up is an article about 7 strange questions that will help you find your purpose. There are self-help books all over the shelves, articles all over the internet, and plenty of motivational speakers that want to help you find your purpose in life. The issue though is that if any of these things are not rooted in relationship with God, then you are not going to be living out your purpose. Let's dive deeper.
God made Adam and Eve simply to live in relationship with Him. This relationship was the focus. God had provided them a wonderful garden and gave them all the joy that He offered just by being in relationship with Him. However, there was the fall of man. Adam ate from the forbidden tree and so then we were entered into a world that had sin. When sin entered the Garden of Eden, the first thing Adam and Eve wanted to do was hide from God! They realized that they were naked and thought they needed to clothe themselves with leaves. They were fully exposed in their sin and they were ashamed. Now does that sound like a good relationship? One in which the other party is shamed and hides from the other? Of course not! To save us all, God sacrificed His only son Jesus. We are not born perfect because of the fall of man, however we have all been washed with the perfect and precious blood of Jesus Christ! And this offers us our purpose.
Our purpose revolves around one thing: Jesus. Our God wants to be in relationship with us. He wants all of us. Is your purpose aligned to this? You were created by God, for God, and to be in relationship with God....but is your purpose bringing you closer to God or away from God? At my old church in Atlanta we did an exercise where we had to write down our purpose. A few years ago I would have said my purpose was to provide, do well at my job, and to be a "good guy." My how wrong that was. I was a Christian, but I did not know God, nor did I find really any joy in my purpose at the time. It wasn't until I focused on diving deeper into my faith and really focusing on being in a relationship with Christ through obedience and giving my life fully to Him that I was able to experience joy in my life. That doesn't mean that my circumstances changed, or that all the things in my life went well, but what happened was that my eyes were open to see God's plan. God is for us and wants us to experience all of his blessings! On my notecard my purpose is: To discern God's will, live a life that isn't mine, and share the light with those in darkness." I keep this in my wallet and I ask God every day to help me live out this purpose...His purpose for me.
It boils down to this: If your purpose is something other than being closer to God and living in relationship with Him, then you will never be who you were made to be, you will never feel the joy you were made to experience, and you will live your life as if you were running a race with weighted shoes. When you go against what God wants for you, you will in fact find conflict and hardship in your life. That's because you're going against the very nature for which you were created! It would be like if a fish decided to live out of water!
My prayer for you this week is that you focus on finding what your current purpose is, and that you do a review. Review your purpose, and if it is leading you away from God....change it! You were made to be in relationship with God. Your joy and the joy that others can experience from you living out your true purpose is directly correlated to you giving your life to God and being who you were made to be in Christ. Find your purpose in the vine of Jesus and your fruit will be many!
Have a great week!
Song of the week: Living Hope: Phil Wickham
If you Google "What is my purpose in life," the first thing that pops up is an article about 7 strange questions that will help you find your purpose. There are self-help books all over the shelves, articles all over the internet, and plenty of motivational speakers that want to help you find your purpose in life. The issue though is that if any of these things are not rooted in relationship with God, then you are not going to be living out your purpose. Let's dive deeper.
God made Adam and Eve simply to live in relationship with Him. This relationship was the focus. God had provided them a wonderful garden and gave them all the joy that He offered just by being in relationship with Him. However, there was the fall of man. Adam ate from the forbidden tree and so then we were entered into a world that had sin. When sin entered the Garden of Eden, the first thing Adam and Eve wanted to do was hide from God! They realized that they were naked and thought they needed to clothe themselves with leaves. They were fully exposed in their sin and they were ashamed. Now does that sound like a good relationship? One in which the other party is shamed and hides from the other? Of course not! To save us all, God sacrificed His only son Jesus. We are not born perfect because of the fall of man, however we have all been washed with the perfect and precious blood of Jesus Christ! And this offers us our purpose.
Our purpose revolves around one thing: Jesus. Our God wants to be in relationship with us. He wants all of us. Is your purpose aligned to this? You were created by God, for God, and to be in relationship with God....but is your purpose bringing you closer to God or away from God? At my old church in Atlanta we did an exercise where we had to write down our purpose. A few years ago I would have said my purpose was to provide, do well at my job, and to be a "good guy." My how wrong that was. I was a Christian, but I did not know God, nor did I find really any joy in my purpose at the time. It wasn't until I focused on diving deeper into my faith and really focusing on being in a relationship with Christ through obedience and giving my life fully to Him that I was able to experience joy in my life. That doesn't mean that my circumstances changed, or that all the things in my life went well, but what happened was that my eyes were open to see God's plan. God is for us and wants us to experience all of his blessings! On my notecard my purpose is: To discern God's will, live a life that isn't mine, and share the light with those in darkness." I keep this in my wallet and I ask God every day to help me live out this purpose...His purpose for me.
It boils down to this: If your purpose is something other than being closer to God and living in relationship with Him, then you will never be who you were made to be, you will never feel the joy you were made to experience, and you will live your life as if you were running a race with weighted shoes. When you go against what God wants for you, you will in fact find conflict and hardship in your life. That's because you're going against the very nature for which you were created! It would be like if a fish decided to live out of water!
My prayer for you this week is that you focus on finding what your current purpose is, and that you do a review. Review your purpose, and if it is leading you away from God....change it! You were made to be in relationship with God. Your joy and the joy that others can experience from you living out your true purpose is directly correlated to you giving your life to God and being who you were made to be in Christ. Find your purpose in the vine of Jesus and your fruit will be many!
Have a great week!
Song of the week: Living Hope: Phil Wickham
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